The EAR, THE WHOLE EAR, AND NOTHING BUT THE EAR! I’ve always wanted to say that but could never find the story to go with it. I borrowed the phrase from Bernadette Murphy’s book on the artist Vincent Van Gogh. Murphy spent six years researching the stories of a half-mad Van Gogh cutting off his own ear in 1888. I have often wondered what graduates with an art degree did, other than teaching other art undergrads! Murphy concluded that Van Gogh sliced off most of the ear except a sliver of lobe. This differed from EARlier theories of only part of the ear missing. Sorry, I couldn’t let the pun go unsaid.
My own research started from with two photographs. One with a man in a portrait setting. The other photo was a family grouping with names on the back identifying each person. The man in the portrait was older and unidentified. I had a guess that the same man was in both photos but with age differences, added weight and wrinkles, it was hard to be certain. I had read an article claiming that ears changed very little with age and could be used to identify people in photos. This was before computer facial recognition software. Still, unless you have the CIA upgrades, using home software can be sketchy at best to help in family photos. My own iPhone often declares me a stranger with its face recognition. I did some research and found a study on ear shapes and how no two ears are alike, even your own left and right ears. Using one technique, it claimed 99.6 percent accuracy on matching ear profiles to people. If aren’t bored yet, go ahead and look up Patent number US3102459 for a system to use ears for identification by Manual Zimberhoff in 1963. This stuff is too weird to be made up!
General classification of ear shapes is Broad (no, that is not a sexist comment); Narrow; Round Lobe; Square; Protruding; and Pointed. This last one may refer to the Vulcan Spock ear, I am not sure. Earlobes have two major classifications, Attached (to the side of the head) or FREE (unattached). There is some scientific debate on other shapes, but other than Vincent Van Gogh, who cares! There is some study showing earlobes are determined by a gene handed down to you by your parents. Noses and ears both continue to grow as you mature. Ear shape remains essentially the same but grows in circumference by .51 mm every year. I am sure some university somewhere got a government grant to study that, along with ear hair braiding in old guys like me. If you think this a good place to end my article, just say “EAR, EAR
Special to the Herald Times
